As promised as of October 31, 2010, Google has officially retired the Google Advertising Professionals program.

Google Advertising Professionals Program Retired

While I am not sure what the previous “Qualified Individual” designation will be replaced by, the previous company level certification – the “Qualified Company’ has been replaced with the Google AdWords Certified Partner status.

Google AdWords Certified Partner

Google Advertising Professionals who had not yet renewed their qualifications under the new Google Certification program’s terms and guidelines may find their old Google Adwords Partner status has taken early retirement.